Jump to content

How to find a really flat spot?


Recommended Posts

I am building a mining base out of rovers--USI logistics, they don't need to actually be connected.

I thought I was on a flat piece of ground--but as rover #5 rolled up #2 came within physics range, now it has a bunch of fuel in it that it didn't have when I placed it--and it proceeds to start rolling down the hill.  (The drills happily working as it slid!)

I have seen it suggested to use one of those big round containers to find the bottom of a dip--but when I dropped a 5m ball in the area it just sat there.  The survey rover I had used would roll and roll and roll despite the altitude remaining a constant 268 meters--it's much more sensitive than the kontainer but it doesn't roll in all directions.

Is there perhaps a topographic mod out there--when turned on it would draw contour lines on the ground at specified intervals?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AFAIK there is no such thing as "level" ground. I found that while looking for a good landing site on another world, eventually getting deep into config files and how ground is defined.

The only truly level spots are made flat by definition. That's exceptional sites like the plain around KSC, where the ordinary functions for ground wavyness are overridden. Everywhere else, there will always be a slope, however small.

That said.... I take it your parking brake doesn't work?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Laie said:

AFAIK there is no such thing as "level" ground. I found that while looking for a good landing site on another world, eventually getting deep into config files and how ground is defined.

The only truly level spots are made flat by definition. That's exceptional sites like the plain around KSC, where the ordinary functions for ground wavyness are overridden. Everywhere else, there will always be a slope, however small.

That said.... I take it your parking brake doesn't work?

Flat and level are not the same thing. Its something flat earther's have a hard time understanding.

The runway on kerbin is perfectly flat... its also a slow relative to the level at most points, that's why planes start rolling on it. "level" follows the curvature of the planet, always tangent to the force of gravity. Flat is flat... a straight line. A straight line can only be tangent to a circle/sphere at one point. That one point is the only point at which it is level. The rest is going to be a slope

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A very practical question on a useful topic.  As mentioned, the only truly level sites will be:

  1. KSC (green)
  2. the Island 'drome
  3. Baikerbanur
  4. the poles (on the ice)
  5. the oceans/lakes

Nevertheless, finding sites that are straight and level enough for airplanes, potentially heavies, would seem like a pretty important subject for pilots/explorers.

I thought about a mod that offers a device carried on a low-flying plane that scans the terrain and applies an algorithm to identify/indicate potential landing sites...

I don't think mods such as Scansat can render the kind of resolution required to keep a finicky pilot satisfied.

However, a mod like Kerbal Konstructs might be able to artificially construct artefacts such as large aprons on which you could work.  I don't know much about its capabilities.

 

 

 

Edited by Hotel26
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Laie said:

AFAIK there is no such thing as "level" ground. I found that while looking for a good landing site on another world, eventually getting deep into config files and how ground is defined.

The only truly level spots are made flat by definition. That's exceptional sites like the plain around KSC, where the ordinary functions for ground wavyness are overridden. Everywhere else, there will always be a slope, however small.

That said.... I take it your parking brake doesn't work?

The parking brake worked fine when I parked it there, when I came back it wasn't enough to hold against a big tank of fuel.

I'm thinking perhaps what I need to do is redesign it with a truss sticking down with the wheels and then take the wheels off when it's in position.  I can't simply take the wheels off the current design, it would roll away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since you're already using USI mods, you should have the USI Tools that includes a handy ground tether function. I use the following patch to add it to all command modules. This adds a right click option to toggle the tether on or off. This solved my problems with bases moving around on their own and rovers sliding down hills. Just remember to toggle it off before trying to drive a rover, it won't go anywhere with it engaged. Rockets can break free of it, but it helps to disengage it before trying to launch.

//
// Add USI-Tools Ground Tether option to command modules
@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[ModuleCommand],!MODULE[USI_InertialDampener]]:FINAL
{
    MODULE
    {
	name = USI_InertialDampener
    }
}
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Tonka Crash said:

Since you're already using USI mods, you should have the USI Tools that includes a handy ground tether function. I use the following patch to add it to all command modules. This adds a right click option to toggle the tether on or off. This solved my problems with bases moving around on their own and rovers sliding down hills. Just remember to toggle it off before trying to drive a rover, it won't go anywhere with it engaged. Rockets can break free of it, but it helps to disengage it before trying to launch.


//
// Add USI-Tools Ground Tether option to command modules
@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[ModuleCommand],!MODULE[USI_InertialDampener]]:FINAL
{
    MODULE
    {
	name = USI_InertialDampener
    }
}

I'll give it a try.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/31/2019 at 12:49 AM, Loren Pechtel said:

Is there perhaps a topographic mod out there--when turned on it would draw contour lines on the ground at specified intervals?

SCANSat maps will create a separate contour map.  They still won't put those contours on the ground though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...